


Anti-Fascist Avengers

by edgarallanrose



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 2016 US Presidential Election, American Politics, Avengers Tower, Bucky lives with the Avengers (as it should be), Coming Out, Established Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Feminism, Inapropriate Trump Nicknames, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, OG Nazi-Puncher Steve Rogers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protests, Trigger Warning: Donald Trump, Women's March on Washington DC - 21 January 2017, twitter rants
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-09-21 01:53:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9526613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgarallanrose/pseuds/edgarallanrose
Summary: Unapologetic anti-Trump fic. Less a linear story, and more a series of vignettes featuring the Avengers reacting to the political situation in America and standing up for our rights. To be updated whenever more shit goes down in this country (that is to say, frequently).





	1. Election Results

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a cathartic exercise after I heard the results of the election and I had no real intention of posting it. However, it has brought me some small comfort to write it so I thought it may be of use to others too. There seems to be no end to the inspiration for these chapters, at any rate. Political opinions all my own (but I can't help feeling the Avengers would agree with me).

 

It had been a very quiet week at Avengers Tower.

On Wednesday night they had all sat together in front of their giant TV well past three in the morning, their hope turning to despair before settling into horrified disbelief. Their grief had manifested in different ways. Tony had been on the phone immediately, calling every important person he could think of to demand an explanation.

“No, you listen to me. Stark Industries did not donate hundreds of thousands of dollars, and I’ll say it again, _hundreds of thousands_ to the Clinton campaign for that orange ass clown to end up in office. What the hell is going on, Clark?”

Natasha had looked near tears, Bruce had already started crying. Vision quietly explained to Thor what the fuss was about.

“This is an outrage!” Thor had shouted. “I shall end his reign of tyranny before it even begins! Then the throne to the House of White will be free to be claimed by our true champion!”

“We appreciate the sentiment,” Clint said, “but that’s not exactly how it works in America, buddy.”

“Then I will do what works,” he said, pacing up and down the room, “whatever that may be. I am here to stand by the human race.”

Steve had been quiet. Bucky a silent companion next to him.

“I think I need some air,” Bucky had said before excusing himself from the room.

“Cap, you okay?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. I’m going to go to bed,” he said. Natasha looked up from her phone, pausing the steady stream of angry words she had been typing for several minutes.

“Steve, what’s wrong?”

“I’m just…tired.”

Steve retreated to his bedroom and locked the door behind him. He sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He pulled out his cell phone, which had been incessantly buzzing in his pocket for hours, and against his better judgement opened Twitter. Tony had made him the account years ago, but he had only recently begun to use it in earnest. While before he had only sent out the occasional tweet to congratulate a sports team’s victory or do a required promotional tweet of something Avengers related, he had started to get political lately. The Avengers PR team had warned them of becoming too impassioned on their social media feeds, which the rest of his teammates actively ignored, but Steve felt it would be smart not to invite conflict. He had kept his tweets as nonpartisan as he could, mostly encouraging young people to vote for what they thought was right. Back then he had felt confident America would make the right choice.

The only people he followed were his teammates and a couple news outlets so the vast majority of his feed was the angry ranting of his friends.

 **Agent Romanoff** @BlackWidowOfficial

(1/2)Congratulations America!! Once again we’ve proved that no matter how qualified she is a woman will always come in second to male peers!

 **Agent Romanoff** @BlackWidowOfficial

(2/2)My heart is breaking. Misogyny and hate won today & I fell sick. #ImStillWithHer

 **Clint Barton** @YourGuyHawkeye

Shit.

 **Sam Wilson** @TheRealFalcon

Surrounded by shocked avengers rn & Im here like “y’all rlly didn’t know America was this racist?” #smdh #sadbutnotsurprised

 **Bruce Banner** @Dr_BBanner

US elected a man who thinks climate change is a hoax. 4 the love of earth @realDonaldTrump START LISTENING TO SCIENTISTS INSTEAD OF YOUR EGO

 **Clint Barton** @YourGuyHawkeye

FUCK!

 **Tony Stark (aka IRON MAN)** @TonyStarkForReal

I’m done. Gotta take a break from social media for a while…

 **Tony Stark (aka IRON MAN)** @TonyStarkForReal

Who am I kidding? I’m just getting started. NOW IS THE TIME TO STAND UP AND FIGHT AGAINST FACISM, BIGOTRY, & MISOGYNY. DON’T BE COMPLACENT.

 **Sam Wilson** @TheRealFalcon

#DontLeaveUsBarack #MyPresidentIsBlack

 **Clint Barton** @YourGuyHawkeye

#FuckHate #FuckDonaldTrump

Steve started scrolling through his mentions. Most of them were some variation of “Only Captain America can save us now” but in between there were people asking for protection when their country turned against them.

“I am Muslim, but I am an American first!” one read. “Please @CapAmerica my family needs protection I’m scared.” Steve swallowed, a lump forming in his throat. His country was in turmoil, its people alone and afraid, and there was absolutely nothing he could do.

A knock on his door tore his attention away from the growing number of notifications.

“Come in,” he muttered.

“Steve,” said Bucky’s muffled voice from outside, “it’s locked and Tony said he’d start charging me for property damages if I broke another doorknob.”

Steve got up and unlocked the door, stepping aside to let Bucky in.

“I know what a locked door means,” Bucky said, still standing outside the room, “if you want to be alone that’s okay.”

“No, not exactly. I just didn’t want to talk to anyone.”

“Understandable.”

“But I don’t want to be alone.”

“Me neither.” Bucky finally crossed the threshold, closing the door behind him and pulling Steve into a tight embrace. “What do you need, sweetheart?”

“I need to sleep for another seventy years.”

“You and me both. Can you settle for one night?”

“If I have to, sure.”

Bucky kissed the top of his head before pulling away. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into Steve’s bed. Steve followed suit, lying down on his side so Bucky could wrap his metal arm around him as the big spoon. Steve reached for his phone again, staring at Twitter for ten minutes before trying to type something, deleting it, and then typing again.

“Hey, I thought we were sleeping,” Bucky mumbled into his neck.

“I’ve gotta say something, Buck,” Steve whispered, not trusting himself to keep his emotions in check. “People are scared. They think America has abandoned them.”

“I know your superhero name is misleading, but you are not actually in charge of all Americans,” Bucky said, reaching over and taking the phone from Steve. “You can tell them in the morning. Right now, take care of you. Go to sleep, Stevie.”

\---

 **Steven G. Rogers** @CapAmerica

No more fear. Only hopeful optimism. I gonna let love be my guide. All my energy will now go towards protecting the rights of ALL Americans


	2. Union Square Protest

“Hey Cap,” Bruce called out, “you joining us?”

“Hmm?” Steve looked up from his laptop to find Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Sam, and Thor standing around by the elevator. They were carrying protest signs and banners. Thor was shirtless with an American flag painted on his chest.

“We’re heading to Union Square for the protest,” Sam said.

“Don’t you think you’ll be recognized?” Steve asked.

“We’re practically invisible out of costume,” Natasha said.

“And even if they do, so what?” Bruce added. “It’ll send a good message.”

“I don’t think…I can’t tonight,” Steve said, returning his focus to his laptop. “You guys go ahead.”

The group shrugged with a couple mutterings of “suit yourself” as they filed into the elevator. Natasha stayed behind. She walked over and sat on the arm of the couch that Steve was seated on.

“C’mon, Nat, you don’t want to be late. They can’t fight the good fight without you,” Steve said in a half-hearted attempt at humor.

“I know,” Natasha said. “But I’m worried about you. We all are. You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet about the whole thing.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay,” she snorted. “I know you’re feeling a lot of weight on your shoulders right now; weight, I might add, that doesn’t exist and you’re putting on yourself. You’re overthinking this.”

“I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do,” Steve sighed, finally closing his laptop. “I’m not exactly the symbol I used to be. Nobody wants the white, male, blonde hair blue eyed, ‘born on the fourth of July’ version of America telling them how to feel.”

“That’s not all you are and you know it,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Nat…”

“Your parents were immigrants. You grew up sick and in poverty,” she ticked each point off on her fingers, “the Howling Commandos, who _you_ lead, were one of the most diverse task forces that America has ever seen.”

“Bucky put that team together,” Steve mumbled.

“Right,” Natasha paused, “and Bucky…”

“And Bucky,” Steve sighed. He had never discussed their relationship with her, nor her with him. However he had assumed long ago if there was only one person to figure it out it would be Nat. 

“I understand your apprehension…” she started. Steve scoffed. “Just listen. If there was ever a time to go public Steve…”

“I know. It’s just…not the way things were done then. I don’t know if we could even do it any other way.”

“Times are a changin’,” she said with a smirk. She pulled off a rainbow button that was pinned to her jacket and pinned it onto Steve’s collar. “Just think about it.”


	3. Vigilante

The Avengers had always been the bigger picture type of heroes. Was your small country in Eastern Europe about to be blown up by a megalomaniacal super villain?  The Avengers would be there. Were you getting mugged on 36th street? Tough luck.

There were more small time heroes for that sort of thing, and last Steve heard there was quite the growing number just in New York. Tabs were being kept on the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, that man from Harlem, and another girl, the private investigator, but for the most part they were left alone to handle the streets. However, with the alarming rate of hate crimes growing in the city, extra hands were going to be necessary.

Tony had been going about things his own way, donating money to charities and support groups while also having extra security sentinels placed around the city that could perform basic protective functions and also alert the police. He knew that Natasha and Clint had been sneaking out at night in their stealth suits to help.

“We should go out with them,” Bucky said one night.

“Really?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, why not?” Bucky shrugged. “Just some good old fashioned fist fights, keeping trash off the streets, like the good ol’ days. Punching Nazis was your specialty, after all.”

“We’re heading into vigilante territory here, Buck.”

“Weren’t we already? We won’t be out there as Captain America and Winter Soldier. Just Bucky and Steve to the rescue, alright?”

Steve could see that he had already made up his mind. Just because he had been trying to keep Captain America out of this mess, that didn’t mean _Steve Rogers_ couldn’t get involved, right?

“Fine,” Steve acquiesced, “but we wear the stealth suits.”

Bucky frowned.

“That Harlem guy only wears a hoodie.”

“Harlem guy is bulletproof,” Steve reminded him, “we are not. And I’m not bringing the shield.”


	4. Women's March - Washington D.C.

“Did you watch any of the inauguration footage?” Bruce asked.

“Nah,” Clint replied, “didn’t want to give Nacho Dumpster Fire the satisfaction.”

The team was currently seated on one of Tony’s private planes (“You have more than one of these?” Bucky had scoffed) on their way to the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Bruce leaned over the aisle to show a picture on his phone of the crowd size at the inauguration to Clint, who chuckled. Wanda was using her telekinesis to knit a pink pussy hat in the air in front of her while her own hands knit one in her lap. Thor was already proudly wearing one of her finished products, using it as a pillow as he snored against a window.

Sam, Bucky and Steve were seated at the back of the plane. Steve was working on his sign, putting painstaking effort into every line, carefully shading the edges.

“C’mon, Steve, this ain’t gonna hang in the Guggenheim. I finished mine an hour ago,” Bucky said, holding up his plain white poster on which he had furiously scribbled in all caps ‘FUCK TRUMP!!’

“I was thinking of something a little more…nuanced,” he said, the corner of his mouth tugging up into a small smile, “though I appreciate the sentiment. Short. To the point.”

“Warranted,” Bucky added.

“You’ve always been a classy guy, Barnes,” Sam said.

“Thank you.”

Natasha looked up from her own poster from her seat across from them.

“Wow, Rogers,” she said. “That’s…did you trace that?”

Steve shook his head, making a final outline before putting the cap back on his sharpie.

“What do you think?” he asked, lifting it up to show her.

“I love it,” she said, smiling and snatching it from his hands. “Guys, check out the artiste.”

She brought it towards the front of the plane, where their teammates huddled around his drawing of the Statue of Liberty, with looping words written above and below, _“Lady Liberty for Women’s Liberation.”_

“I didn’t know you could draw, Rogers,” Tony said, peering over Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce startled.

“Jeez, where did you come from? I thought you were still in the cockpit,” he said.

“Wait! If you’re fighting the fascists, and I’m fighting the fascists, then who’s flying the plane?!” Tony yelled.

Everyone stared at him.

“Just kidding, Vision is still up there. We’re good.”

“I like this very much, Captain Rogers,” Wanda said, glancing up from her knitting project. “I remember what it felt like to see her for the first time, when you all brought me here. It was something out of a dream. You captured it perfectly.”

“Shucks, guys,” Steve said, trying to get the poster back from their grasp. “It’s just a little doodle. I used to do them all the time when I was a cartoonist.”

“When you were a what?” Tony said.

“Sure,” Steve scratched the back of his neck. His face was getting hot. “I wanted…heh, I wanted to draw comic books, ya know? But I found I could make money selling little political cartoons to the papers when the war started.”

“That ain’t at the Smithsonian,” Sam said with a chuckle.

“I didn’t publish them under my name,” Steve said. “I thought once my comic illustrator career took off I wouldn’t want to be tied to any political affiliations. Then, well…I had a change of heart, obviously.”

“Understatement of the century,” Bucky muttered.

They all laughed then settled back down again, returning to their respective seats as Vision informed them over the intercom that they’d be landing soon. Bucky had the poster in his hands now, looking over it thoughtfully.

“I remember those old drawings,” Bucky said. “You should do ‘em again, Stevie. They were good.”

“And imagine Our Dark Lord’s face if it ended up being the cover of the New York Times,” Natasha smirked.

Steve shrugged.

“I’ll do whatever I have to.”


	5. 2020 US Census - LBGT+ Representation

“I’ve been thinkin’, Buck.”

“Oh, you think now? Isn’t that more Banner’s thing?”

“Ah, shut up.” Steve threw an empty Coke can at him and Bucky caught it one-handed without looking up from his newspaper, setting it neatly on the table next to him. It was a rainy Sunday. Steve and Bucky had given up trying to do anything productive after a couple half-hearted attempts to get off the couch. Avenger’s Tower was, for the most part, empty. The majority of their teammates preferred to go home on weekends (safety of the universe permitting) to visit family or work on personal projects. Bucky and Steve usually took advantage of this time to commandeer the common areas, let their Brooklyn accent get a little broader, and occasionally mess with Tony’s stuff.

That afternoon had been a quiet one, leaving Steve with the opportunity to think, overthink, and then rethink how he wanted to bring this topic up to Bucky.

“I think we ought to say something.”

“I love saying things. What will we say this time?”

“We make a statement. About us.”

Bucky finally looked at Steve, frowning and folding the paper in his lap.

“What about us?” he asked cautiously.

“Go public with our…relationship.” Steve held eye contact with Bucky despite his shaking hands. The nerves were less that he was talking to Bucky and more the situation as a whole. Bucky stared for a minute before chuckling and looking back at his paper.

“Did Nat finally get to you?”

Steve blinked. Had Natasha been talking to both of them behind their backs? Well, supporting them separately behind their backs. Typical.

“Nat has nothing to do with this.”

“Listen, standing up for the little guy and keeping scum off the street is one thing, but I don’t see what good could come of telling the whole world about our private business.”

Steve had been expecting this response, but he still had to roll his eyes.

“You read that damn paper every day. Didn’t you hear that they denied the proposal to include LGBT folks on the next census?”

“You know I only read these for the funnies.”

“Buck,” Steve scolded, snatching the paper from his hands and tossing it to the side.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s just…it doesn’t seem to matter how many years I spend in the future –“

“ –It’s the present at this point, don’t you think?”

“—Sure, the present. The 21st century. But old habits die hard.”

“I understand that,” Steve said, resting a hand on Bucky’s thigh. Bucky took the offering and set his hand on top, lacing their fingers together. “But this kind of thing is okay now.”

“Well it was okay then too, ya just couldn’t talk about it,” Bucky said with a sardonic smile, looking up through the fringe that fell in his eyes.

“That’s a very skewed definition of ‘okay’, Buck,” Steve said, tucking the loose hair behind his ear.

“And just ‘cause they can’t send us to jail for it doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of repercussions,” Bucky said.

“I know,” Steve said. “I’m not saying this won’t be hard. I’m just saying it’s important. They have to know we exist. How can we be represented if they don’t even know how many of us there are?”

“I just don’t understand why we have to try and set an example,” Bucky argued. “There are plenty of celebrities and other people they already don’t listen to.”

“Every voice counts,” Steve said gently, “maybe if we find the courage it will help someone else do the same.”

Bucky sighed, releasing Steve’s hand so he could place his arm around Steve’s shoulders, pulling him in tightly. Steve rested his head on Bucky’s shoulder, and they stayed like that quietly for several minutes.

“I see what you’re saying, I do,” Bucky finally said. “I just don’t know how I’d feel letting you expose yourself like that. I like that you’re mine and I don’t want to share this part of you with anyone.”

Steve smiled, sitting up to kiss Bucky on the cheek.

“Well, while I completely share that sentiment, and I admit your possessiveness kind of turns me on –“

“Yeah?”

“Definitely. But maybe we could just start small?”

“Very small,” Bucky amended.

“Very small,” Steve agreed. “We should at least tell our teammates.” Bucky groaned.

“You know we’ll never hear the end of it from Nat. Or any of them, for that matter.”

“I know,” Steve smiled.

“What are we gonna say? That we’re…boyfriends?”

“We’re a little more than boyfriends,” Steve scoffed.

“I don’t see a ring, pal,” Bucky said, wiggling the fingers on his left, metal hand for emphasis.

“Seriously?”

“I’m just sayin’.”

“We could say we’re partners?” Steve suggested.

“We’ve always been partners. That doesn’t sound gay enough—”

“—See, first you don’t wanna say anything and now it’s not gay _enough_?!”

“—but I’m not a homosexual. Not all the way anyway, and I don’t think you are either. What are the kids calling that these days?” Bucky said, reaching for his phone presumably to google ‘what’s the word for being partly homosexual?’

“C’mon, Bucky, this is serious,” Steve said, even though they were both smiling now.

“I am being serious,” Bucky said, ruffling Steve’s hair. “You know I love you, Stevie.”

“Hey, that’s what we’ll say,” Steve said, grabbing a hold of Bucky’s hand. “That we love each other. We’re in love.”

Bucky grinned, pulling Steve in for a kiss.

“Yeah. That sounds about right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously with this presidential administration there's a new scandal every damn day. I can't write something for all of them, but I'm not abandoning this little collection yet lol. At the end of the day this is still a story about the Avengers and how current events would effect each of them personally. These scenes/ficlets/what-have-you are also supposed to be more optimistic and hopeful than anything else, so I've been picking and choosing what to write about. I've been wanting to write this scene between Steve and Bucky for a long time (and I do intend to have a follow up of this moment). So I hope you enjoyed this new chapter, many apologies for the wait, and I'd love for you to stick around to enjoy the ride :)

**Author's Note:**

> That Steve tweet at the end is, of course, what Chris Evan's actually tweeted the day after the election (typos and all lol).


End file.
